1 minute ago, SiamBeast said:

I'd be in favor of a little price hike in order to have better service. Perhaps start the meter at 50 baht and increase the fare slighly, I think 15% should do it. A close friend of mine is a taxi driver, and most refuse fares because they know that they will make zero penny with that ride.

 

I don't know or presume to know what's a fair fare for meter taxi service in BKK.

 

But I do know, after a long period of flat rates, the government just in recent months allowed/directed an increase in both the basic starting fare and then the distance/time fares from what they had been. The new, higher rates haven't been in effect all that long.

 

The drivers/taxi groups had been asking for more, but supposedly, got a more limited increase and time to prove that they could get their houses in order, such as dealing with the refused fairs issue and all the other problems.   Is there much evidence they've meaningfully addressed any of those various problems as yet?  I don't think so.

 

Any idea why some taxis have (had) seatbelts in the rear but with the buckle cut off?

Just now, Patanawet said:

Any idea why some taxis have (had) seatbelts in the rear but with the buckle cut off?

 

Because they need the buckle to open their beer.

find the families behind this crazy idea and you will find the suppliers of all this equipment, no wonder ubers' having troubles

13 hours ago, mrfill said:

All they need to install is better drivers.

Say again did you say Driver with a normal brain like yours and mine, in short supply around here I am afraid

Wow ,Do they really think  that that will stop the Stupid ones,,Don't forget You Can't Fix Stupid

9 hours ago, SiamBeast said:

I'd be in favor of a little price hike in order to have better service. Perhaps start the meter at 50 baht and increase the fare slighly, I think 15% should do it. A close friend of mine is a taxi driver, and most refuse fares because they know that they will make zero penny with that ride.

 

There have been a couple of fare increases in the last ~ 18 -24 months. Another fare increase (flag-fall to 40 or 45 baht, not sure about distance/traffic) is scheduled based on some vague mentions of "performance", but has been postponed. 

 

99.9 % of taxi trips are taken by Thais, many of whom have a limited discretionary income; this is why it is often more challenging to get a taxi in the 7 - 10 days after "salary" day. Any fare increase would directly impact Thais so I suspect the DLT and "authorities" choose to keep fares affordable for most Thais so as to limit inflationary effects on transportation budgets. In some cases if the fare gets too high fewer people will be taking taxis and then drivers will suffer.

Waste of time and money. The taxi drivers will just turn them off the same as they do with their meters.

I normally find taxi drivers in Bangkok to be good to very good, but the last two evening taxis I have taken to go out to dinner on a Friday and Saturday night at around 8.30 pm - called by my security from the main road to the condo - have been nightmares. The first had a cloth over the meter, which we didn't notice until we came to pay and it showed THB99 for a trip of 5 minutes. The second, last night wanted to go the wrong way, and then having explained how to get to the address we wanted, went to the wrong street, again another 5 minute distance of travel. We asked him to stop, and got out and walked, but not before loads of abuse and shouting by the driver, which was quite scary, despite paying him the full fare. Perhaps I've just been unlucky, but my antennae is reading all sorts of sinister disgruntled behaviour into it. I hope it's not a trend. The DLT app, as mentioned, doesn't work.

Again: more examptions on a good idea to control the taxis and their drivers....

so in years it might happen all will have to have the gps tracking system...but up to then 90 % can still go the way they did up to now and the new law is worth as all the laws: NOTHING

On 4/23/2017 at 8:49 PM, samtam said:

I normally find taxi drivers in Bangkok to be good to very good, but the last two evening taxis I have taken to go out to dinner on a Friday and Saturday night at around 8.30 pm - called by my security from the main road to the condo - have been nightmares. The first had a cloth over the meter, which we didn't notice until we came to pay and it showed THB99 for a trip of 5 minutes. The second, last night wanted to go the wrong way, and then having explained how to get to the address we wanted, went to the wrong street, again another 5 minute distance of travel. We asked him to stop, and got out and walked, but not before loads of abuse and shouting by the driver, which was quite scary, despite paying him the full fare. Perhaps I've just been unlucky, but my antennae is reading all sorts of sinister disgruntled behaviour into it. I hope it's not a trend. The DLT app, as mentioned, doesn't work.

 

It's been a trend for a long time. And lots of other behaviors as well.

 

90% of the female students in evening classes at my uni have organized themselves into teams; two female and one male and the male student is the final destination.